Tropical Depression Henry leaves PAR on same day it developed

MANILA, Philippines – Tropical Depression Henry left the Philippine Area of Responsibility at 8 pm on Wednesday, July 1, 18 hours after it developed inside PAR.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Henry was already 470 kilometers west of Bacnotan, La Union, as of 10 pm.

The tropical depression is moving northwest at a relatively fast 30 kilometers per hour (km/h).

It continues to have maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h and gustiness of up to 55 km/h, but it could intensify into a tropical storm by Thursday, July 2.

Before it developed at 2 am on Wednesday, Henry had crossed land as a low pressure area on Tuesday, June 30, affecting Southern Luzon and the Visayas. Moderate to heavy rain hit several provinces.

Signal No. 1 was briefly raised on Wednesday morning due to strong winds from the tropical depression.

Even as Henry moved away, Zambales and Bataan had been told that they may still have scattered rain and thunderstorms because of the tropical depression.

Similar conditions are likely in Cavite, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, Palawan, Western Visayas, the Negros Island Region, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi, but due to the southwest monsoon or habagat.

Henry’s periphery or outer bands and the southwest monsoon are still bringing strong to gale-force gusts to these areas, too:

Thursday, July 2

• Batanes, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Palawan

Friday, July 3

• Batanes, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Zambales, Palawan

Moderate sea conditions are also expected to continue in certain seaboards in Luzon within 24 hours.

• Seaboards of Kalayaan Islands; western seaboards of Pangasinan and Zambales – waves up to 2.5 meters high
• Seaboards of Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Lubang Islands; northern. seaboards of mainland Cagayan and Ilocos Norte; western seaboards of Bataan, Batangas, and Palawan – waves up to 2 meters high

Small vessels should take precautionary measures, or avoid sailing, if possible.

Henry was the Philippines’ eighth tropical cyclone for 2026, and the first for July.

PAGASA’s latest estimates show nine to 13 tropical cyclones could form within or enter PAR from July to December 2026. Here is the breakdown per month:

• July – 2 to 4
• August – 2 to 4
• September – 2 or 3
• October – 1 or 2
• November – 1 or 2
• December – 1 or 2

Formation inside or entry into PAR does not necessarily mean automatic impact on Philippine weather and sea conditions, as that would depend on multiple factors, including the location, track, and intensity of a tropical cyclone. – Rappler.com